-Boat traffic congestion may be relieved by marina: Wells-
OSOYOOS TIMES-December 31, 2008-
By Paul EverestrnOsoyoos Times
The commodore of the Lake Osoyoos Sailing Club said he has mixed feelings about the Town's plans to create a marina with the help of the developers of the Watermark Beach Resort.
It's probably time that the Town gets involved with the marina area, said Jurgen Reinhards on Dec. 24.
But, he added, a marina would mean increased boat traffic in an area where the club engages in many of its activities.
That will definitely have some impact on our sailing school in the summer. I'm concerned about the safety of our students out there.rnIf developed, the marina would be located on Crown land at the mouth of a lagoon between the club and Lions Park, just off Spartan Drive, and would extend nearly 75 metres from the shoreline.
The Town and developers are in the process of applying to the province's Integrated Land Management Bureau for a lease to use the Crown land.
Reinhards said the club has sat in on some discussions about the marina concept and he hopes the Town keeps the club involved in future planning.
However, having slips for about 100 motorboats only metres away from the club's launching area will cause interference for club operations, he said.
And, Reinhards added, increased motorboat traffic on the water won't be good for Osoyoos Lake's health.
When asked for comment on the marina concept, the Osoyoos Lake Water Quality Society responded by saying they would like to meet and discuss the idea before sharing an opinion.
Mayor Stu Wells said the marina concept, which includes a proposal to build 92 boat slips, has not come before Osoyoos town council yet and the cost of such a development is not yet known.
He added that the development of a marina extending outwards from the lagoon would further protect that area as the public boat launch between the lagoon and the sailing club would be better defined for all lake users and it would not be as easy for sailboats to end up in waters filled with motorboats.
Wells also said that a marina may solve some of the congestion in the area of the boat launch caused by people loading and unloading their boats.
As for the issue of where people using the proposed marina would leave their boat trailers, Wells said the stretch of Spartan Drive from the foot of Main Street to White Sands can be used for trailer parking.
And part of the marina concept would include a possible trail linking Lions Park to the Hwy. 3 bridge near the Holiday Inn.
The current marina concept was generated when the Watermark developers agreed not to have a boat-launch area on their property, which extends from the Super Valu supermarket to Park Place.
Town Planner Alain Cunningham said the idea first came up in a rezoning and development permit report that went before town council in December, 2006.
The zoning and a restrictive covenant in the Town's agreement with the developers prevent the building of a dock on the resort, Cunningham said, adding that the Town preferred the idea of building a marina north of the resort near Lions Park.
This is not the first time the Town has looked into building a marina near the lagoon, however, as a request for proposals to establish a marina at the site was advertised earlier this decade.
But the idea was eventually dropped.
At the moment, the province is still looking at the proposal and input from the Environment Ministry, the Regional District Okanagan-Similkameen, local First Nations groups and Transport Canada will be collected before any decision on allowing the Town to use the land is made.
[email protected]
